плюшевого мишку, плюшевого мишку
by DancingDragonGirl9
Summary: "It was an old teddy bear, its beige fur turned grey by centuries of dust. 'Wow, I haven't seen this old thing since forever.' He thought turning the bear over in his hands revealing a pull-string in its back. 'I'll never forget who gave me this bear.'" A sweet story of friendship. Warnings: minor violence, may cause massive feels. Sucky summary is sucky.


Title: плюшевого мишку, плюшевого мишку (teddy bear, teddy bear)  
Genre: Friendship/Drama  
Character(s): Russia; OC  
Warnings: slight violence

Disclaimer: I, Dancingdragongirl9 do hereby swear that I, in no way, shape or form own Hetalia or receive profit from this work of fiction.

* * *

Russia sighed as he reached into the closet for a box of old files his boss had been asking him about. Lately all the meetings and politics and arguments between the other countries had been starting to get to him. "Why can't they all just get along?" He said to himself as he pulled the box down. The movement dislodged something which fell on Russia's head before bouncing to the floor. 'What was that?' he thought, blinking half from surprise half from the dust the object had brought down with it. Setting the box aside he bent down and picked up the thing that had fallen on his head. It was an old teddy bear, its beige fur turned grey by centuries of dust. 'Wow, I haven't seen this old thing since forever.' He thought turning the bear over in his hands revealing a pull-string in its back. 'I'll never forget who gave me this bear.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Magical trip back in time! Whee!)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Get back here!"

"Нет*, you just want to beat me up!"

"Get back here and submit to my awesomeness!"

Poor little Russia was being chased through the forest by those mean bullies Mongolia and Teutonic Knights. They were approaching a clearing and Russia was desperately looking for somewhere he could hide from the mean countries. 'There!' he spotted a small cave made by some boulders near the edge of the clearing and ducked inside. The cave was dark, dry, and larger than it had appeared from the outside. "Maybe I'll be safe in here for a while." He whispered to the darkness.

"Kesesesese, so you thought you could escape us that easy, hey?" What little light there was in the cave dimmed as Teutonic Knights and Mongolia stood in the cave entrance. Russia whipped round to face them, backing up in fear as they advanced on him. "Now you'll face the might of my holy sword!" exclaimed Teutonic Knights as Russia backed into something solid and furry. The smug look on the faces of Teutonic Knights and Mongolia as they were about to attack quickly turned to terror when the thing behind Russia began to move.

"B-B-BEAR!" They screamed and took off.

Before Russia could escape he was swept up by a fur covered arm and held tightly. He tried not to tremble as he tried to think of a way out of this situation. He was too close to be able to see properly but the bear appeared to be fast asleep if the light snores were anything to go by and was rather thin for a bear, although it still had a strong grip on him. Russia was tired-out from running away from bullies all day and the warmth from the bear was making it harder and harder for him to think. The creature pulled him a little closer into its cosy fur. His last puzzled thought before he nodded off was 'Bears don't have boobs.'

~~~(^J^) sometime later (^J^)~~~

Russia didn't want to wake up, the thick heavy blanket kept him oh so warm and the pillow was so soft, but something wasn't letting him drift back into slumber. Sitting up from under a thick fur blanket he rubbed his eyes and looked around. He was still in the cave but it looked completely different: in the warm light emanating from a lantern he could see the cave was quite spacious, an oilcloth covered the entrance to keep out the wind and snow while on the ceiling bunches of herbs hung on a drying rack made from the roots of the tree growing outside just above the cave. He suddenly became aware of what had awoken him.

The woman was kneeling next to a small cast-iron stove that blended into the rock around it, humming to herself as she tended to something bubbling in a pot. Her long, light brown hair hung in a loose plait down her back while the skirt of her ice blue dress pooled slightly on the floor where she knelt. She stopped humming and turned as she felt his gaze on her. "Well hello there, sleepy-head." She said, giving him a friendly smile before turning her attention back to the pot.

"Hello." Replied Russia "Um, excuse me miss, but could you tell me what happened or where I am?" he asked, still confused as to how he had gone from being in the clutches of a bear to waking up in a warm bed that seemed to belong to this nice lady.

"Well, it seems the oilcloth had come loose and you wandered in while I was asleep." She grabbed a few of the herbs from the drying rack and added them to whatever it was she was cooking before she continued, "Which is probably why I mistook you for a teddy bear. I apologise for that. Oh, my name is Sylvia by the way."

"I'm Ivan. And it's okay, you sort of saved me from some bullies earlier when you did that." Said Russia shyly.

"Well now how about that for a turn of fate." Said Sylvia with a smile.

"Спасибо* for saving me earlier Miss Sylvia but I think it's time I should be going home now." Said Russia getting up and heading for the exit. "My sisters will be worried about me."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, it's almost dark," Sylvia cast a worried look towards Russia and the entrance of the cave, "and the wolves around here are fast and vicious." At that moment, almost as if to punctuate her sentence, a blood chilling howl rose from outside nearby. "I think it would be safest if you left in the morning instead."

"Д-да* I think you may be right." Russia backed away from the cave entrance, the oilcloth suddenly seeming a _very thin_ barrier between himself and whatever lurked outside. He was soon distracted though, by the delicious aroma that was coming from the pot on the stove.

"The stew is nearly ready, I hope you're hungry." Sylvia said as she stirred the contents of the pot. Before Russia had a chance to reply his stomach let out a loud growl. "Hahaha, well I'll take that as a resounding 'yes' then." She laughed as he blushed.

~~ (^J^) ~~

"So tell me about those bullies you say I saved you from today. Do they often pick on you?" asked Sylvia. The two had been sharing some light conversation as they ate dinner.

"Oh, them." Russia looked down at his bowl. "Yeah, nearly every day actually. Sometimes others who are stronger than them do too, but not as often."

Sylvia looked completely shocked, "Surely your friends must help you against all those bullies?"

A small cloud of gloom seemed to settle over Russia. "I don't have any. No-one wants to be friends with me, not even a hamster."

"Well now that _can't_ be right, you seem like such a nice little boy. I can't see any reason anyone _wouldn't_ want to be friends with you!" she replied, seemingly indignant at the world on his behalf.

"That's really nice of you to say." Said Russia, slightly cheered up. "So what about you? How come you live out here instead of in one of the villages?"

Now it was Sylvia's turn to look sad, "Ah, it's a long story. In part it's because I rather like it out here, but mostly it's because I'm not welcome in the villages. They believe me to be a ведьма*." A small, reassuring pat on her shoulder made her look up. Russia was smiling at her.

"It's okay Miss Sylvia, I think even if you are a ведьма* you're definitely one of the good kind."

The two sat up and talked into the night. Russia told Sylvia all about his weird sisters, while she told him some of the interesting stories she knew until eventually it was time for bed.

"Goodnight Ivan."

"Goodnight Miss Sylvia."

. . .

"Hey, Miss Sylvia?"

"Yes, Ivan?"

"Do you have many friends?"

"Not really, no."

"It must get lonely."

"A bit, sometimes."

. . .

"Hey, Miss Sylvia?"

"Yes, Ivan?"

"I think we should be friends, that way I will have someone to help me with the bullies and you won't have to be lonely."

"I think that's a wonderful idea, now goodnight."

"Goodnight."

~~~~ (^ᴥ^) Teddy bear Time skip! (^ᴥ^) ~~~~

"Russia! Thank goodness you're okay!" Russia was nearly tackled by his sisters when he got home. "We were so worried, we thought something terrible might of happened when you didn't come back yesterday!" said Ukraine as she fussed over him earning glares from Belarus.

"I'm sorry big sis, I didn't mean to upset you. Please let me go Belarus." Russia apologized while trying to pull free of his little sister who was clinging to him like Velcro.

Ukraine smiled at him. "It's okay, what matters is that you're safe. So, just where were you all this time?"

Russia thought a bit, wondering where to begin. "Well, it all started with Mongolia and Teutonic Knights chasing me again…"

~~scene shift~~

Sylvia was out collecting firewood and thinking over what had happened yesterday. Ivan's reaction to her being a ведьма*had surprised her greatly. She had expected the same kind of fear or hatred that the village children always showed towards her; but instead the boy had simply accepted her, even offering to be her friend! Sylvia sighed, pulling another branch from the snow and adding it to the bundle under her arm. She knew it was just a lie though, I mean it _had_ to be, who would ever _really_ try to be friends with a ведьма*? So when she'd sent little Ivan on his way that morning she knew she would, in all likelihood, never see him again. She looked up at the cold grey sky as a few white flakes began to fall. "Why must I be cursed with such loneliness?" she asked sadly, receiving no answer from the silent forest around her.

~~~(^J^) A few days later (^J^)~~~

"Stop! When I catch you I'm gonna make you swear loyalty to me whether you like it or not!"

"Wah! I'm definitely not going to stop! Why are you so mean to me?"

Russia was being chased by Teutonic Knights again. As he ran Russia noticed exactly where they were heading. 'It's the clearing where Miss Sylvia stays, she can help me!' this little bit of hope lent him a small burst of speed and earned more yelling from Teutonic Knights. "Miss Sylvia! Miss Sylvia help! Miss SylviAAH!" he called out, but tripped over a tree root at the edge of the clearing landing face first in the snow.

"Kesesese, what a klutz. So who's this 'Miss Sylvia' chick anyway? Probably just some ugly old hag I'll bet." Teutonic Knights smirked as he advanced on Russia. He aimed a vicious kick…only for it to miss completely as a strong grip hoisted him into the air by the back of his shirt. "H-hey! Let the awesome me go!"

"'Just some ugly old hag' hey?" Teutonic Knights twisted himself around enough to see the voice belonged to a young, rather pretty woman. "Is this one of those bullies you told me about?" she asked little Russia, who nodded. "I think it's time he learnt what happens to children who are bad."

Sylvia sat down on a nearby tree stump and put the struggling Teutonic Knights across her lap. "O-oi what are you doing?! Lemme go!" he started panicking as she raised her hand, "No! Don't! Nononono!" SMACK!

~~~One hiding later~~~

"I'll get you for this! My awesome revenge shall be awesome!" yelled Teutonic Knights as he ran off clutching his stinging behind.

Sylvia just ignored him and turned to help Russia up. "Are you alright?" she asked, dusting some of the snow off him.

"Дa, I am now thanks to you." He replied suddenly hugging her "Спасибо*."

The hug caught Sylvia by surprise at first, but then she simply smiled, hugged him back and said "It's okay little teddy bear, that's what friends do. Come now, we have all day let's go play in the snow!"

In the weeks that followed the two became great friends. Little Russia loved the wonderful stories Miss Sylvia would tell him, while Miss Sylvia enjoyed the laughter and company the child brought. They would often have snowball fights and build snow-figures in the clearing. Miss Sylvia taught Russia many things about the forest and the animals in it and protected him from the bullies.

~~ (^J^) ~~

Russia sat near the stove in Miss Sylvia's cave home helping her tie up little bundles of sage with twine while she told him a story. "You always tell the best stories Miss Sylvia!" he said when she finished the story.

"Why, thank you teddy bear, and thank you for helping me tie up this sage. Why don't you keep a bundle, I'm sure you or your sisters will find a use for it." She had taken to calling him 'teddy bear' but Russia didn't mind the nickname, "Oh that reminds me, I have a present for you."

"A present! For me? Really? What is it? What is it?" He asked bouncing with excitement, his childish enthusiasm making Sylvia laugh.

"Let's see, I know I put it in here somewhere…" she muttered digging in a wooden chest at the back of the cave, "Ah, here it is!" she exclaimed pulling out an object wrapped in a layer of cloth. Russia quickly unwrapped the cloth to reveal a beige teddy bear. "There's something that makes this teddy bear extra special, watch!" Sylvia reached behind the bear and pulled a string in its back.

"_Teddy bear teddy bear, _

_Where are you,_

_It's getting dark,_

_And the stars are few. _

_Teddy bear teddy bear,_

_There you are, _

_Playing in the snow, _

_Without a scratch or scar._

_Teddy bear teddy bear,_

_I was worried sick,_

_'cause it's getting dark, _

_And the wolves are quick." _sang a voice from the teddy bear.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"I love it, спасибо* Miss Sylvia! You really are magic!" He smiled, cuddling the toy. "But I don't have anything to give to you." He said suddenly sad.

Sylvia laughed. "Silly boy," she said ruffling his hair, "you've _already_ given me the best gift there is."

"What gift is that?" he asked looking up at her curiously.

"Why, your friendship of course!" she said giving him a bright smile and a hug. "You best be on your way now, it's getting late and we don't want your sisters to worry about you."

~~~(^J^) Time skip time, да? (^J^)~~~

Russia was on his way to see Miss Sylvia, the teddy bear she had given him clutched in his hand. As he got near the clearing though he saw something was happening. Some men from a nearby village, armed with large sticks, were charging into the cave where Miss Sylvia stayed!

The men from the village roughly dragged Sylvia out of her cave home and threw her down in the snow. The fur she used for a blanket her only protection from the cold; they had caught her while she slept. A rouge bear had been attacking the village recently and the superstitious villagers had decided to blame it on the ведьма* in the forest. One of the men, the largest of them, stepped towards her. "This is what you get for turning that creature on our village, ведьма*!" he said, backhanding her hard across the face. With that, the men began to attack her.

"LEAVE MISS SYLVIA ALONE!" Little Russia ran up to the men, trying to get them to stop, only to be knocked to the ground by one of them. The villagers turned their attention to the boy.

"What's this then?" sneered one of them, "The witch's little helper? Let's take care of him too." He said and started kicking Russia, the others soon joining in. Suddenly a large shadow loomed over the men and an angry roar split the air. The men froze then turned slowly. Where Miss Sylvia had once been there now stood a large, extremely angry female bear. She swiped aside the nearest villager with a swing of her gigantic paw, letting loose another roar. Deciding it wasn't worth their lives the men grabbed their fallen comrade and fled.

The bear slowly shambled over to where Russia lay crying quietly in the snow. "Little teddy bear are you alright?" it asked in Sylvia's voice, nudging him with its muzzle. "Do not worry, they are gone now."

"M-miss S-s-sylvia *hiccough* i-is that really you?" he asked, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Yes it is me. And before you ask, I didn't turn that bear on the village. I only understand animals, I cannot control them." She replied as she looked little Russia over. He already had a black eye beginning to show and blood dripped from his nose; she was certain that by the next morning many large bruises would cover his small body. She bent down next to him, "Come, climb onto my back and I'll take you home where your sister can see to you." Russia did as she asked and the two set off.

~~ (ųJų) ~~

When they were just out of sight of Russia's house Sylvia stopped and gently slid him off her back. "This is where we say goodbye little teddy bear and I'm sorry for what happened to you, it's all my fault." She said sadly.

Russia shook his head, "No, it's my fault; I wasn't strong enough to protect you like you always protected me." He said hugging Sylvia as best he could in her current form. She noticed he still held the teddy bear she had given him.

She gave a sad laugh, "A teddy bear for my teddy bear. Take good care of and remember me by it, one day you will be big and strong enough to protect all your friends. I must go now, perhaps we shall see each other again one day." So with a final hug from Russia Sylvia turned and walked away into the forest.

Little Russia stood clutching the toy bear to him like it was the last real thing in the world, fresh tears threatening to spill from his eyes, as he watched his only friend -who was now a bear- walk out of his life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Back to the future)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Russia sighed, why did there have to be so many sad memories? He looked down at the bear in his hands. 'I wonder if the pull-string still works…' he thought giving it a tug, but instead of the rhyme he remembered, the voice mechanism in the bear played something completely different:

"_Teddy bear teddy bear,_

_Where are you,_

_All these years,_

_I have missed you._

_Teddy bear teddy bear, _

_Did you forget, _

_The old stone shack? _

_Teddy bear teddy bear,_

_The witch is back!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(^J^) конца (^J^)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Translations:

Нет – No

Спасибо – Thank you

Да – Yes

Ведьма – Witch

Конца – The end

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the story :) and before anyone starts getting fussy and saying things like 'but there was no such thing as teddy bears in the 13th century blah blah blah' I say if America can have a laptop in 1942 then Russia can have a teddy bear back in the 13th century! All translations are from google translate so if any are wrong please tell me so corrections can be made, thank you. Please leave a review on your way out if it's not too much trouble, they boost my self-confidence (even flames) and motivate me to keep writing. Have a nice day/night!


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